Tl;dr
- 2005 Mazda Miata (MX5 if you think Miata is too girly)
- 5 Speed Manual Transmission (more fun than 6 speed)
- Winning Blue (uncommon and in excellent condition (waxed more often than a bikini model
)
- 175k miles, but who cares? It’s really well maintained and mostly freeway miles
- Handling mods: Kansai strut tower bar, Koni (Yellow) shock absorbers, Eibach Pro springs, and GOOD TIRES
- Power mods: ECU tune from Dynotronics and Roadster Sport II Exhaust
- Technology mods: BLUETOOTH! But with factory head unit (Grom, if you’re curious)
- I know there are 2006 Miatas on sale for less and with less miles, but I guarantee they are not as well kept (and modded with quality parts) like this one. Price is pretty much firm.

Sadly, it is time for me to part with my beloved car, but I hope it goes in good hands [hopefully yours]. This is a Sport trim (read base), but trust me, you want the 5-speed for more fun and the 16-inch tires are better for acceleration and handling. I had this car for 4.5 years and I am the second owner. The first owner took really good care of the car and put mostly highway miles on it. I also pampered the car with care, and I am glad to report that it has ZERO mechanical issues. New brakes, water reservoir, starter motor. The tires are practically new (BF Goodrich Sports Comp2 in the front and Firestone Indy 500 in the back). The transmission and differential fluid were changed within 5000 miles. Clutch shows no signs of wear, but it’s been there a while.

There are also some modifications made to the car to make it drive like a Miata should (first and second gen :p ).

Handling: (shoutout to GroundControl in Sacramento for a killer combo)
Koni Yellows shock absorber – Don’t need to say much about these. A nice, well-designed, (rebound) adjustable shocks. If you don’t have Ohlins coilovers, you better have Koni Yellow SA. Koni has lifelong guarantee on their shocks, but the current ones have only been on for maybe 30k miles. These shocks adapt to almost all the springs available for Miata.
Eibach Pro Springs – They drop the car by about 1.5 inch (needed to compensate for the SUV like stance that the third generation has). They’re firmer and really help with the body roll. GroundControl knows their stuff!
Kansai Strut Tower Bar – Original from Japan! Not sure if you can get it anymore. It really helps maintain a solid line through high-speed sweeps and overall improves the handling.

Power:
Stage 1 tune from Dynotronics – Those guys do an amazing job mapping the car to its exact specifications. I am not sure if I even got 5HP bump from the mod, but the car drives a lot better. The throttle response and the eagerness to climb up the RPMs has improved drastically. I still have the hardware if you want to go back to stock ECU (not sure why you would) or have Joe from Dynotronics remap for any additional mods you put in (particularly intake and exhaust).
Roadstersport II Exhaust – Purchased new from Brian Goodwin’s shop. This allegedly adds 3-5HP to the car, but I couldn’t feel the increase in power output. However, this makes the car sound a little deeper and louder, but not so loud that you’ll wake your neighbors up or get in trouble with the cops. The rolled aluminum tips add a nice touch to the appearance as well.